Fashion

Concerts / Events

On April 20th, AKB48’s official rival group Nogizaka46 attended HTC’s product launch event for their new smart phone, HTC J. It was also revealed that their second single, “Oide Shampoo” (to be released on May 2nd), will be the theme song for HTC’s upcoming CM.

At this event, sixteen members of Nogizaka46 made their appearance on stage and danced to “Oide Shampoo” in front of the audience. Prior to this event, Nogizaka46 had to change a part of their dance routine for this upcoming single, but the new dance routine was not performed on this day. However, member Sakurai Reika (17) made a statement regarding their new dance, “Although our previous dance routine was cute, the new dance routine is equally cute so I hope everyone looks forward to it,” with a smile.

Regarding the same release date of Nogizaka46’s second single and AKB48’s Sashihara Rino (19)’s solo single, Sakurai stated modestly, “More than a rival, I hope we both leave a favorable result on the charts and unite through this development.” However, when asked if she had the confidence to win against her senpai, she made a triumphant pose and declared that there was some "rivalry" with the statement, “I will do my best!”